We are well on our way to designing a conference that will bring powerful voices to highlight the theme PowerUP! The Spark that Ignites Change! We are excited to announce that Tricia Raikes, the co-founder of the Raikes Foundation and a long-time WaWF member will be the keynote speaker at our opening plenary dinner on Sunday, February 23, 2020. While we hope you will be able to join us for the full conference, Sunday night’s program is not to be missed. Mark your calendars now!
The Raikes Foundation was established in 2002 and works toward a just and inclusive society where all young people have the support they need to reach their full potential. The foundation works at the systems level to ensure classrooms enable all students to thrive and to stem the flow of young people into homelessness. The foundation also recently launched an initiative to connect individual donors with the information and resources they need to achieve meaningful impact with their giving.
For the past few years the Raikes Foundation has been deeply invested in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion within the organization, through its programmatic work and throughout the philanthropic sector. During the conference, Tricia will draw upon experiences from her life that have helped her and the foundation hone their focus on equity as the guiding principle for all their work. Please find more detailed information around their work in The Growth Mindset.
Tricia was recognized by President Barack Obama as a White House Champion of Change in 2009 for her work on youth homelessness, a Woman of Influence by Puget Sound Business Journal and was awarded the 2017 Ginger Ackerley Community Service Award by the Seattle Storm. Tricia’s professional background includes leadership of Creative Services at Microsoft Corporation. In addition to being a member of WaWF since 2009, Tricia was instrumental in the founding of the Catalist affiliate Women Investing in Nebraska (WIN), which adapted the WaWF model of collective giving grantmaking to a university setting.
We will be making regular announcements about the speakers in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more information!